The College of Iowa is known for some things, yet close to the first spot on the list is the life span and solidness of its athletic division. The Hawkeyes have had two head football trainers in over forty years. There have been only four men’s ball mentors in additional almost forty years. There have only been three female coaches in four decades. Similar to football, Iowa wrestling has had three coaches for nearly 50 years. All-around stability and longevity
A major piece of that has been the life span and dependability at the top with athletic chief Gary Barta assuming control over the reins in 2006 from previous Promotion Bounce Bowlsby, who stood firm on the foothold for a considerable length of time. Naturally, Bowlsby took over from Iowa’s 21-year veteran Bump Elliott, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Gary Barta is officially retiring at the age of 59 after serving for 17 years as the University of Iowa Henry B. and Patricia B. Tippie Director of Athletics Chair.
With the declaration coming on Friday, Barta is set to stay on at Iowa through August first. Next week, a new AD will be named, with Beth Goetz, the current Deputy Athletics Director and COO, likely to take over as interim AD and eventually become Barta’s permanent replacement.
Barta has unquestionably experienced ups and downs during his time in Iowa City. Under Barta’s direction, the athletic department has raised more than $650 million in donations for non-capital projects, including $380 million for facility upgrades. That incorporates the Kinnick Arena North End Zone project, the expansion of the Hansen Football Execution Center, Gerdin Athletic Learning Community, Carver-Hawkeye Field Howard Family Structure, Goschke Family Wrestling Preparing Center, Nagle Family Clubhouse and Hoak Family Golf Complex, Iowa Soccer Activities Center, P. Sue Beckwith Boat storage, and the Grounds Amusement and Wellbeing Center natatorium among others.
In that time, the Hawkeyes have won 12 Big Ten titles, including a national championship in wrestling, a Final Four appearance in women’s basketball, two Big Ten Tournament Championships, one in men’s basketball, and two Big Ten Championship appearances for Hawkeye football. The Hawkeyes had a graduation success rate of 89% during his 17 years in Iowa City.
Barta served three years on the College Football Playoff Committee in addition to the Hawkeyes. That remembered filling in as the seat for his last two years on the panel. In addition to the CFP, Barta was named the 2015-16 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics/Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year after serving four years on the NCAA Division I Council.
However, Gary Barta’s tenure as Hawkeyes coach was not without its problems. Six separate lawsuits have ensnared the Iowa athletic department over the past six years, alleging everything from Title IX violations to racial and gender discrimination. There has been a total settlement of $11 million in those lawsuits.
The athletic division was likewise compelled to take out a $50M credit from the College to endure a solitary season in 2020 without financing from the football program’s ticket deals – an obligation which will be acquired by his replacement for the following ten years or more.
The annual outcry from Hawkeye fans and national pundits about untimely and sometimes unnecessary contract extensions for the university’s highest-paid coaches is only exacerbated by those negative financial reports. Some of these extensions have been granted completely behind closed doors and have not been made public for months.
The fanbase has disagreed about hiring and firing decisions in addition to the financial issues. With the hiring and extension of baseball coach Rick Heller, Barta appears to have hit a home run. However, when he hired Todd Lickliter to replace REDACTED, he probably struck out worse than anyone else. Regarding the head wrestling or football coach, he has not been confronted with any choices that he is willing to make. The equivalent can be said for ladies’ b-ball. And keeping in mind that Fran McCaffery has not made a terrible showing as Iowa’s men’s ball mentor, the following Promotion will surely be confronting a junction.
Including the football situation, this is nothing. With an August takeoff, the new break Promotion will step into the spotlight with perfect timing for the Hawkeyes to get back to the turf, where everyone’s eyes will be on the Iowa offense. Brian Ferentz, the offensive coordinator, has a contract that will end at the end of this season. Be that as it may, Barta notoriously set up guardrails on an expansion, subject to the group averaging 25 focuses per game and dominating 7 matches this season. Provided that this is true, the new Promotion will probably be tied with a similar unusual detailing structure given the state’s nepotism regulations.
Goetz remains the most likely candidate for Barta’s replacement following what is believed to be her interim stint beginning this fall. The previous Promotion at Ball State, Goetz came to Iowa City subsequent to having been a top possibility to play the job at Penn State and afterward Wisconsin. She held the title of break Promotion at Minnesota in 2015-2016, where she made the recruit of Tracy Claeys when Jerry kill resigned because of wellbeing reasons.
She’s a previous university soccer player (Brevard School and Clemson), as well as a previous lead trainer (Missouri-St. Louis). Goetz assumed the position of vice chair of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee in 2021 and held that position until 2022 and 2023. Before she was hired by Iowa in the fall of last year, she was named the 2022 NCAA Division I FBS Nike Executive of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports.
Her resume is more great than Barta’s the point at which he was recruited away from Wyoming following three years in the job. She has also, according to all accounts, left a lasting impression on everyone she has worked with or met in Iowa City. If former deputy athletic director and current Kansas State AD Gene Taylor is interested in returning to Iowa City, that’s the only thing that could throw a wrench in the works.